Eric Lauer (KIA Tigers) took the mound against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 5th and recorded five hits, one out, four strikeouts, and three runs in six ⅓ innings.먹튀검증
Kia said on June 6 that it recruited Lauer. After opting to separate from Cam Aldred, who joined as a short-term substitute for Will Crow, it brought Lauer, who had experience taking the mound 120 times in the big leagues.
Lauer made his debut in the match against the Samsung Lions on August 11. He allowed four runs in three ⅓ innings. He earned his first win in the KBO by allowing one run in five innings against the LG Twins on August 17. However, he lost four runs in five innings against the NC Dinos on August 23 and five runs in five innings against the SSG Landers on August 29.
“I had a meeting with Lauer yesterday (April 4). I will throw whatever Lauer wants to throw today. Rather than the catcher taking the lead, he wants to empty his head and throw in the style he wants to throw,” Lee said. “Lauer must have understood what KBO hitters are like. We will have to wait and see.”
He continued, “He’s had a lot of good experiences in the Major League, but he must have been very angry because he came here and had a few bad games. He must be motivated to throw well,” and added, “The hit rate against left-handed hitters is low, but I don’t think he knew how to target right-handed hitters yet. I think the pitch is good enough, but I think there were some difficulties in how to deal with it. I’m getting used to it, so I’ll check how to deal with it today.”
Wearing a transmitter, Lauer took the mound to play with Kim. He got off to a fresh start. He struck out Kim Tae-yeon, grounded out to shortstop Jonathan Ferraza, and fly ball to second baseman An Chi-hong to complete the inning with three outs. He also allowed no on-base hits such as Noh Si-hwan, Chae Eun-seong, second baseman fly ball, Jang Jin-hyuk, and Choi Jae-hoon, right fielder fly ball at the top of the third inning, pitcher Lee Do-yoon, and Euro connection second baseman ground ball.
Lauer allowed Noh Si-hwan to make a timely RBI after a double by An Chi-hong after two outs in the top of the fourth inning, but he did not lose any more runs by turning Chae Eun-sung into a fly ball to right field. In the top of the fifth inning, Jang Jin-hyuk and Lee Do-yoon were hit, and they were on the verge of a one-out first and second base, but they induced Euro Gyeol to hit a ground ball to the third base to double play.
Lauer, who blocked the top of the sixth inning with three outs, kept the mound in the top of the seventh inning. He caught Noh Si-hwan with a fly ball to center field. Afterwards, he came down from the mound after giving Chae Eun-sung an infield hit and Jang Jin-hyuk a walk. Kwak Do-gyu, who took the mound in relief, had hits by Choi Jae-hoon and Euro Gyeol, and all of Lauer’s successors scored, but Lauer’s requirements for a winning pitcher were eliminated, but he showed how he played the most innings since his KBO league debut.
After the game, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho said, “Lauer pitched well as expected. From the quick study, I felt the strength of all the pitches. It was a pitch I’m looking forward to taking the next mound.”
Lauer threw a total of 92 balls. He mixed four-seam fastballs (41 pitches), cutter (25 pitches), slider (17 pitches) and curve (9 pitches). The maximum speed was 151 km/h.
Lauer said, “It was nice to be able to make good use of all the games I had and the plans I had. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get the win, but I’m satisfied because the team won as a result.”
For the first time since his debut in the KBO League, he led the game in person. “Kicking pitchcom gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “My plans against right-handed hitters worked well today. I tried to target a lot of right-handed hitters through four-seam fastballs. After that, I tried to steal the timing with breaking balls. I used four-seam fastballs or cutters when I first batted, but after that, I used them by mixing many breaking balls.”
Finally, Lauer said, “I think this good pitching will help me in the future. Through today’s game, I think I showed what my pitching was and what kind of pitcher I was.”